Machine for making plaster lath and the like.



4 L. N. FARNUM. MACHINE FOR MAKING PLASTER LATH AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN-18' 1916.

Patented Jan. 14,1919.

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MACHINE FOR MAKING PLASTER LATH AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN-.18, 191s.

Patented Jan. 14,1919.

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LORING N. FARN UM, OF LOS AN GELES, CALIFORNIA, MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF LOS ANGELES,

OF CALIFORNIA.

ASSIGNOR TO BUTTONLATI-I CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION MACHINE FOR MAKING PLASTER LA'II-I AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 18, 1916. Serial N 0. 72,828.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LORING N. FARNUM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Plaster Lath and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for the manufacture of plaster lath or the like; and it is a primary object of this invention to provide a Suitable machine in which the complete manufacture of plaster lath and the like may be eiiiciently carried out.

It is an object of this invention to provide a suitable moving surface upon which the formation of plaster lath and the like may be carried out, and upon which the plaster lath may be artificially dried, if desired. It is also an object of this invention to provide a smooth, continuous, unbroken; andv even surface whereon to form the plaster lath; on which surface the formed plaster lath is held and supported without any bendings or undulations, so that the plaster lath is allowed to set without interference. It is also an object to provide a surface which may be artificially heated, if desired, to dry, or to partially dry,the plaster lath.

The primary objects of this invention are accomplished by the provision ofa fiat metallic belt, endless, traveling-horizontally between a pair of drums, and suitably supported so as to form a fiat and even surface for the support of the plaster lath. In the specific form of machine herein described a specific and particular form'of support for I the endless metallic belt is set forth"; but it will be understood that in these details, and

also the details of arrangement of the various parts of machinery, the invention is not specifically limited except as by the appended claims.

A preferred form of device is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a partial longitudinal vertical section of the improved machine and Fig. 1 is a continuation of Fig. 1, Fig. 2.is an elevation showing the forming rolls and their relation to the metallic belt, Fig.3 is a vertical longitudinal section illustrating the formation of plaster lath at the forming rolls on the metallic belt, Fig. 4 is a section taken as indicated by line 4-4 on Fig. 1 and show ing the application of an artificial heating means to the machine, and Fig. 5 isa section taken as indicated by line 55 on Fig. 1

In the drawings the numeral 10 designates a pair of large drums over which the endless fiat metallic belt 11 travels. In the present machine there is a considerable distance between the two drumslO, say about two hundred feet; and the fiat metallic belt 11 is made up of sheets of suitable steel welded together end to end. The thickness of the belt is sufficient (about one thirty second of an inch) to give it the requisite strength and stiffness; while the drums 10 are of sufficient diameter to prevent thebelt from bein bent so shortly as to acquire a permanent set. Each of the drums 10 is mounted on suitable bearings 12 supported on blocks 13 in such manner that the drums may be adjusted as to height and also to distance from each other. The belt 11, traveling between the lower sides of the drums, may either hang loosely or travel on suitable idlers 13.

Situated near the head drum 10 (that is, thatdrum from which the belt moves in its upper travel, as indicated by the arrows) is a pair of rollers 14 and 15. Roller 14 is placed beneath the belt 11 to support the elt immediately beneath the roller 15; while the roller 15 is supported at a suitable distance above the belt, allowing a space between the roller 15 and the belt 11 for the formation of theplaster lath 16. This for-. mation is most clearly illustrated in Fig. 3.

The roller 15 is mounted in bearings 76 on arms 77 which swing from apivot shaft 78; so that, by means of a handle 79, the roller 78 may be swung around the shaft 78 and thus lifted from thebelt. The normal position of roller 15 is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Between the head drum 10 and the roller 14 the belt 11 passes overa series of supporting rollers 17; this space being allowed in the present machine for the mixing of the plas tic or cementitious material and its distribution over the lower form member 18. The mixing apparatus is not shown herein; but the plastic material 19 is shown flowing ofi an apron 20 near the roller 15. It will be understood that the plastic material may be mixed and delivered to the machine inany Patented Jan. 14, 1919. I

employed for distributing the plastic material evenly over the entire face of the lower form member 18.

Between the roller 14 and the tail drum 10 the metal belt is supported by a suitable metallic link belt 20 having rollers 21 traveling on ways formed by beams 22, one link belt at each side of the machine. Trans verse supporting slats 23 are secured between the two link belts in such arrangement as to afford a practically continuous support for the metallic belt 11. The link belt passes over sprockets 24k (at the right in Fig. 1 Sprockets 2st are the drive sprockets for the link belts. They are mounted, one for each link belt 20, on a shaft 25 driven by large gear 26, which in turn is driven by gear train 27 from power shaft 28. The speed in the present machine is such that the metallic belt travels at about two thirds of a foot per second. There is no direct positive drive to the metallic belt itself. The metallic belt is'primarily driven by its frictional contact with the supporting belt; and the friction of this contact is considerable when the plaster lath is lying on the metallic belt. To overcome the lag or backward creep of the metallic belt on the supporting belt, a frictional drive between the shaft 25 and the tail drum 10 is provided in the form of belt 30 passing over a small pulley 31 on shaft 25 and a larger pulley 32 on the drum shaft. The proportions of these pulleys may be made such that the belt may tend to drive the drum and the metallic belt 11 just slightly faster than the supporting belt is driven so that the lag or backward creep of the metallic belt on the supporting belt is thereby overcome. The driving power of belt 30 is relatively small, and the belt slips rather than drive the metallic belt ahead of its supporting belt. At the same time there is no great strain put upon the metallic belt, as the greater part of the driving efiort on the belt is applied over a relatively large surface without unduly straining the belt at any point.

Where the plaster moves off the belt at the tail drum 10 it passes onto a suitable support, as an. apron 10, and thence it passes through the cutter 4:5. This cutter embodies a pair of cutter bars 46 having removable blades 4L7. The bars are swung on pivots as on swinging arms 49; and at one end these swinging arms 49 form parts of bell crank levers, the other arms of which are connected by rods 50 with a small crank 51 on the end of a. shaft 52. This, shaft 52 is intermittently rotated (preferably through half a revolution) by the operation of a mutilated gear 53 and gear teeth 54 on the large driving gear 26. A half revolution of shaft 52 will swing the cutter bars 16 in opposite directions up and down toward each other and longitudinally past each other in a shearing movement, so that the plaster lath is cut by a shearing movement from both faces. At the same time that this cutting operation takes place, the shaft 52 is moved longitudinally by any suitable means, as by the operation of a roller 55 striking an arm 56. The parts are so designed that, during the actual cutting movement of the cutters the frame 57 carrying the cutters is moved bodily longitudinally at the same speed aS that at which the plaster lath is traveling. The other details of the cutting device need not be here entered into; it being only of moment here that the cutter is operated wholly from the original drive, or from the drive of the supporting belt 22 rather than being driven at all from the metal. belt 11; so that the metallic belt is subjected to no unnecessary strain.

When the machine is in operation, the

parts move slowly in the direction indicated, A

the metallic belt 11 traveling continuously over the drums 10. The lower form sheet 18 is fed onto the moving metallic belt; and, at the rollers 14 and 15, the plastic or cementitious material is introduced, the upper form sheet 18 being also introduced over the roller 15. The plastic material is pressed out into a layer of uniform thickness between the two form sheets, between the two rollers 14: and 15. These form sheets may be both plain unperforated sheets of suitable pulpboard, paper or the like; or the lower form sheet may have depressions 18 and apertures 18, through which apertures and into which depressions the plastic material flows and is forced to form a projecting button or the like, as shown at 19*. The depressions 18 are preferably circular, one surrounding each aperture 18. The metallic belt 11 is smooth and imperforate; and the protrusions of plastic material are forced out against the upper surface of the metallic belt and slightly spread to form a key shaped protrusion. At the point where the material passes between the two rollers the lower form sheet is pressed down against the metallic belt and each of the spaces in the de pressions 18 is tightly closed; air is entrapped in each of these spaces; and this entrapped air assists in preventing and limiting the amount of material which flows heating coils may be arranged close to the metal belt so that radiation and conduction of heat from the coils to the plaster lath may be eiiicient. Such heating means may be used for artificially drying the plaster lath or the like.

It will be understood that the invention herein explained is not limited specifically to the details set forth; but that said details make a preferred form of machine.

aving described a preferred form of my invention, I claim:

1. In a machine for making plaster lath or the like, a frame having horizontal ways, an endless belt of imperforate metal horizontally mounted on the frame, a supporting belt arranged beneath the metal belt to travel on said ways, means to drive the supporting belt to thereby frictionally drive the metal belt, frictional driving connection between the two belts tending to drive the metal belt faster than the supporting belt to counteract the lag of the metal belt on the supporting belt, and means to form plaster lath or the like on the moving metal belt.

2. In a machine for making plaster lath or the like, a frame having horizontal ways, an endless belt of imperforate metal horizontally mounted on the frame, a supporting belt arranged beneath the metal belt to travel on saidways, means to drive the supporting belt to thereby frictionally drive the metal belt, and means to form plaster lath or the like on the moving metal belt, a cutter for cutting the plaster lath or the like formed on the metal belt, and means actuating the cutter from the supporting belt.

3. In a machine for making plaster lath or the like, a frame having horizontal ways, an endless belt of imperforate metal horizontally mounted on the frame, a supporting belt arranged beneath the metal belt to travel on said ways, means to drive the supporting belt to thereby frictionally drive the metal belt, and means to form plaster lath or the like on the moving metal belt, a cutter adapted to cut transversely across the plaster lath or the like formed on the metal belt, said cut-ter being movable longitudinally of the belt, and means for actuating the cutter and for moving it longitudinally during actuation, said means being actuated in connection with the supporting belt.

4. In a machine for making plaster lath or the like, a frame, an endless metal belt arranged to travel horizontally on the frame, means for supporting and. driving said metal belt embodying a horizontal movable link belt supported upon the frame immediately beneath the metal belt, said metal belt resting upon and supported by said link belt, means to drive said link belt, means to form plaster lath or the like upon the traveling metal belt, and a frictional driving connection between the two belts tending to drive the metal belt faster than the supporting belt to counteract the lag ofthe metal belt on the supporting belt.

5. In a machine for making plaster lath or the like, a frame, a pair of drums on horizontal axes at opposite ends of the frame, an endless horizontally traveling belt on said drums, said belt being exclusively of metal and presenting a smooth flat and imperforate upper surface, means for driving and supporting said metal belt embodying pairs of driving sprockets arranged at opposite ends of said frame beneath said metal belt, endless sprocket chains on said sprockets, transverse slats mounted upon and eX- tending between said sprocket chains, horizontal ways adapted to support said sprockets and slats in position to support said metal belt, said metal belt being driven by frictional engagement with said slats, frictional driving means between the sprockets and the metal belt tending to drive the metal belt faster than the sprocket chains to counteract to the lag of the metal belt; means to form plaster lath or the like on the moving metal belt, a cutter adapted to cut transversely across the plaster lath or the like formed on the metal belt, said cutter being movable longitudinally of the belt, and means for actuating the cutter and for moving it longitudinally during actuation, said means being actuated in connection with said sprockets.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 4th day of January, 1916.

LORING N. FARNUM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

